


Light the Path Home

by HiddenObscurial



Series: mcu one-shots [5]
Category: Guardians of the Galaxy (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Angst, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Spoilers, Canonical Character Death, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Gen, Goodbyes, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Thor (Marvel) Needs a Hug, Wakes & Funerals
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-01
Updated: 2019-06-01
Packaged: 2020-04-06 00:27:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19051555
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenObscurial/pseuds/HiddenObscurial
Summary: Five years on, Thor still mourns the loss of his younger brother, and wants to give him the funeral that he deserves to get him to Valhalla.





	Light the Path Home

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this because I realised Loki never got a proper funeral of any kind and I was really bothered by that. So I came up with a way for him to have one. Enjoy :)

Thor stands in the front of the ship, watching the millions of stars outside fly by. 

It’s been a week since the final battle that brought everyone back from the Decimation. A week since he left Earth to join the Guardians. 

And though it’s sometimes appreciated, he mostly doesn’t quite like the amount of time he has to let his mind wander when he can’t seem to fall asleep as they travel from planet to planet. He doesn’t want to think about the final battle, or the one five years ago, or the one on the Statesman, but sleep only brings nightmares. 

But, looking out across the endless expanse of space, his mind wanders anyway. He thinks of the battle on the Statesman - the first time Thanos had entered his life and taken everything from him. He wonders what had happened to the wreckage of the ship, after he had been blown out of it and thrown into space by the purple flames. He wonders if anyone else on the ship that day had managed to make it out without going along with Valkyrie. He wonders what happened to the bodies of those who didn’t. 

He wonders, with a twinge in his heart, if Loki’s body ever made it out of the wreckage, or if the last of his brother had just been taken away from him, along with the destruction. 

The displays in front of him change, signalling that they were nearing a planet: Terov. 

The name is familiar, although it takes him a moment to remember why. 

It’s the planet they had been passing by when Thanos had attacked the Statesman. 

_The last time he had seen his brother alive._

He doesn’t bother to glance up when he hears footsteps behind him. He knows who it’s going to be. 

“Hey, do you god-type people just not need sleep?” Rocket asks from behind him, his voice both reprimanding and concerned. “I haven’t seen you sleep in days!”

“It’s only been two days; I’m fine,” Thor sighs. “I’ll get some rest tomorrow before we land on Hala to refuel.” 

“Come on, you ain’t foolin’ anyone,” Rocket says, hopping into the seat in front of the controls. “We all know something’s been bothering you, so spill, what is it?” 

Thor scrubs a hand down his face, finally turning to face his companion. “It’s about Loki.”

“What about him?” Rocket presses. 

“It’s just...” Thor trails off, unsure how to tell Rocket about what happened. “He was killed by Thanos around where we are now. I remember the last planet we passed by before Thanos came was Terov.” 

Rocket hums in response. “And?” 

Thor tries not to think about it, but his mind conjures an image of Loki’s body, frozen in the cold, drifting through the vacuum of space. 

“I don’t know what happened to him- his body. In Asgard... We used to make sure those who fell in battle got a proper funeral. A proper sendoff so they could get to Valhalla.” Thor frowns. “My brother... I’m not sure if he can ever reach Valhalla without one.” 

Rocket keeps quiet, letting Thor gather his thoughts. 

“I don’t even know if he can go to Valhalla. He wasn’t born Aesir. The valkyries may not take him,” Thor continues after a moment. “I did nothing for the last five years, just hoping he’d come back, but... I guess, like I said, this time it’s really true. And he’s just been floating around in space while I wasted my time away.” 

“So what’s stopping you from getting him now?” Rocket interrupts. “We’re in space, in a ship; we can just do some scans, find him, grab him and bring him back to Earth.” 

Thor looks over at him, a flicker of hope in his eyes, but then he remembers why he didn’t do it in the first place, and the hope disappears instantly. 

“He may not even have made it through the destruction from the power stone,” he says quietly, fidgeting with the map in front of him. “And even if he did... We have no idea where he could have drifted off to.” 

“We’ll do this, Thor,” Quill says tightly from behind them. “We’ll find him.”

Thor turns to stare at him. He doesn’t know when Quill had come over, but he is leaning against the doorframe separating the main area and the cockpit of the ship, his headphones hanging around his neck. 

“I know how it feels, wanting closure for your family,” Quill explains, fidgeting with the walkman in his hands. “I never knew what happened to my mother after she died. I think it’ll help, giving your brother a proper sendoff. It felt right for Yondu, anyway,” he adds, quieter. 

Thor nods. “I’m sorry,” he says. “About Yondu. And your mum.” 

Quill tilts his head in acknowledgement, and steps up to the control panel. “We can start with deep space scans - look for the debris of the ship, figure out which way it went in the last few years, and then go from there.” 

Thor watches as Quill deftly brings up programs on the holographic screens, and radar images start to appear. 

Within a few minutes, the system beeps, alerting them of a possible match of the debris one jump point away. 

“Buckle up, we’re jumping!” Rocket yells towards the back of the ship as they strap themselves into their seats. Quill presses a few buttons, and the ship shoots forwards through the jump point. 

They emerge a few light years away from Korbin. On the close-ranged radar, objects start to pop up. 

“There it is,” Quill says, pointing at the large, misshapen shape on the radar. 

“Okay, it ain’t gonna be easy to locate Loki, but we’ve got time. We’ve got at least another week’s worth of supplies, so we can plough through the area, go through the bits of debris one by one,” Rocket says. “Let’s get to work, everyone!” 

They dock the ship next to the main chunk of debris, and Thor and Mantis disembark in their space suits. 

They’re in what appears to be the main hold. The metal hull is blackened and twisted beyond recognition from the multiple explosions during the attack and the aftermath of Thanos using the power stone. But he can still see the bits and pieces hinting that the Asgardians had once travelled on this ship - the shattered fragments of Asgardian armour and weapons on the ground, and tattered but rich fabric that had presumably been ripped off during the battle were scattered around the area. He grabs a broken sword drifting past him out of the air, and examines the hilt - the words carved into the metal tell him that it had belonged to a high-ranking warrior. 

They move through the wreckage and enter the captain’s quarters - where he and Loki and Heimdall had held meetings and shared meals throughout their months adift in space. _Where they last stood alive before Thanos got to them,_ he thinks, a new wave of grief washing over him. 

He hadn’t thought about seeing this place again. Though ruined by the battle, he can still see the table, fastened to the ground, where he had consulted them for advice and poured over documents with them. He remembers turning Loki away at this very table as his brother expressed his doubts about rebuilding on Earth, just moments before the attack. 

Beside him, Mantis puts a hand on his arm gently, and recoils. 

“You feel so much grief,” she says softly, watching him with innocent, yet thoughtful, eyes. “You feel sadness for your brother, and your best friend, and your home. You miss them.” 

Thor nods numbly, staring at the last place he had seen Loki alive. 

_If only I had told him then, that I do care about him,_ Thor thinks, a bitterness taste in his mouth. _I never got to tell him that I love him._

“We should start looking,” Mantis says, and he nods again. 

They check the entire room and the nearby debris around the main hull, but they do not find any bodies remaining in the ship. 

After an hour of searching, they return to the Benatar. 

As he steps out of the airlock, Quill gives him a questioning look, as if saying, _found anything?_

Thor shakes his head defeatedly. “This was a stupid idea; I shouldn’t be wasting our resources looking for my dead brother like that.” 

“No.” Quill grabs him by the shoulder, a determined look on his face. “It’s not stupid. It’s not a waste of resources. We _will_ find him.” 

“Right,” Thor replies half-heartedly. 

“I am groot,” says Groot, taking Thor by the hand and leading him back into the ship. 

“He says your brother’s out there somewhere,” Rocket translates. “And that you’ll find him.” 

“Thank you,” Thor says, sighing. He doesn’t understand how all the Guardians seem to have so much faith in this plan, but for now, he’s emotionally drained from having stepped into the place of his nightmares once again, and he’s content to sitting at the controls as Drax and Rocket take their turn to explore the next chunk of debris. 

* * *

They find him on the fourth day. 

The Benatar is set on course through the debris, headed towards the next large chunk of wreckage. Thor is sitting at the helm of the ship once again, with Quill next to him. 

An hour away from their destination, he sees a dark humanoid shape drifting alongside the debris. 

“Quill,” Thor says, staring hard at the shape in front of him. “Is that...?” 

Quill reaches over and turns on the headlights of their ship. Instantly, the debris in front of them is drowned in bright light, a stark contrast from the darkness of space. 

And in front of the ship, he sees the glint of gold against green and black leather. 

“It’s him,” he breathes.

Thor rushes to the airlock, grabbing a spacesuit and putting it on. 

“Quill!” he shouts. “Keep the lights on and keep the ship steady, I’m going to get him!” 

“I’m not an idiot, I’ve done that already!” Quill retorts, but not unkindly. “Let’s get this done quick; I don’t want to park the ship in this mess for too long!” 

His heart pounding, he leaps out towards where his brother’s body was. The minute it takes for him to get there feels like an eternity, but he finally comes to a stop next to Loki, catching himself on a piece of debris. 

He grabs Loki by the shoulder gently, and turns his body to face him. 

And suddenly, the nightmares come flooding back to him. 

Loki’s eyes are empty and unseeing, staring off distantly to a point behind him. His face is eerily pale, his skin tinged with blue. A multitude of purples and dark blues of bruises peak out from beneath his collar, a painful reminder of the way he met his end. 

Thor feels his throat tighten as the image of the mad titan dropping his brother at his feet comes to mind. 

“Thor! Get him and go! What’re you waiting for?” Rocket says through the earpiece in his spacesuit. 

He tries to reply, but he can’t get the words out. His hands are trembling as he fumbles to get a better grip on Loki’s body. 

“Thor! Can you hear us?” Rocket practically shouts through the earpiece. 

“Yes,” he manages to choke out. “I- I’m fine.”

He tightens his grip around Loki and turns back towards the ship. _I can’t let Loki down this time._

Somehow, he makes it back to the ship, holding Loki tightly in his arms. Stumbling out of the airlock, he allows Drax to take Loki from him. He sinks to the ground at the door, burying his head in his hands. 

The reality of the situation seems to properly sink in for him in that moment. The body in his arms a minute ago was solid. It isn’t an illuson. 

_Loki isn’t coming back._

He barely registers Mantis crouching down in front of him as tears streak down his cheeks. Mantis touches his hand, and says something to the rest of the Guardians that he does not hear. He doesn’t care about the fact that she probably knows every small detail of what he’s feeling now. 

He knows he’s spent at least a quarter of an hour crying on the ground when Rocket approaches him, prying his hands away from his face with a gentleness he never knew was possible for the normally impatient creature. 

“Thor, look at me.” Rocket uses his paws to tilt Thor’s face upwards, forcing him to meet his eyes. “I know you’re grieving for your brother, but he would want you to pull yourself together.” 

Thor takes a deep breath and chokes back a sob, before nodding mutely. 

“Come on, big guy. We’re gonna get us back to Earth, and you can give him whatever funeral you want to, alright?” Rocket says. “Let’s go see your little brother.” 

Thor pulls himself to his feet, wiping off the tears on his face, then follows Rocket into the medical bay. 

Loki lies on the metal operating table, strapped down for travel. Thor can’t help but reach over and slip Loki’s hand into his, and he’s struck by how _cold_ his brother is. 

As the rest of the Guardians leave the room, he sits down on the chair next to the operating table, still grasping Loki’s hand. “Loki... I don’t know if you’re still here, or if you can hear me, but I’m so sorry for everything,” he whispers. “I wasn’t a good brother to you; I should have done more, I should have helped you right from the start. I shouldn’t have doubted you.” 

His breath hitches as he tries to continue, so he brings his free hand up to Loki’s face to slip his eyes closed instead. 

Now, looking at his brother, he can only see an almost peaceful expression on Loki’s face. 

“I’ll make sure you get to Valhalla, brother,” he murmurs. “I promise.” 

* * *

When they finally land on Earth, almost two weeks later, Thor enlists the help of the Asgardians to build Loki’s funeral ship - a grand, spacious ship with intricate patterns carved into the wood. They dress him in his set of regal clothes, complete with the golden horned helmet, someone helps to cover up his wounds, and finally, his body is placed carefully on the ship. 

Thor boards the ship for the last time and stands next to Loki’s body, looking down at him with tears in his eyes. He knows it’s the last time he’ll ever see Loki’s face, and though it’s nothing like seeing him alive, he still wants more time. But he also knows, in his heart, that he _has_ to get Loki to Valhalla. Five years has been a long enough time, and Loki did not deserve to be trapped in the mortal world any longer. 

In his hands, he holds a pair of daggers, reminiscent of the pair that their father had given to Loki when they were children. The silver of the blades seem to shine brighter in the moonlight. Gently, he places them in Loki’s hands, and crosses his hands over his chest. 

Taking one last look at Loki before he leaves the ship, he thinks of the last thing Loki had told him - _the sun will shine on us again._

“I will miss you,” he whispers. “Goodbye, brother.” 

He steps off the ship and joins the rest of the Asgardians along the dock of New Asgard. The gangplank is lowered, and the rope securing the ship to the dock is taken away. A witch stands near the front of the dock, using her powers to help launch the ship. 

Thor stands solemnly next to Valkyrie, and a warrior hands him a bow and arrow before lighting the torch in front of him. 

As he watches the ship drift across the water silently, he nocks an arrow and holds the tip over the torch, watching the flames spread over its tip. Then, he raises the bow, and releases the arrow. 

Lowering the bow, his eyes follow the orange glow of the flames as the arrow arcs over the water and lands in the ship, and the flames spread across the wood. In the light of the fire, he can just about see the silhouette of Loki’s body, lying in the middle of the ship, before the ship drifts farther away and Loki is blocked from his view. 

As the flames engulf the ship, he sees a spiral of shimmering silver dust emerge from the ash and dust, and he knows that Loki has gone. 

Valkyrie looks over at him, her expression gentle. “He’s home now.” 

Thor glances over at her, and nods softly. 

“I know.” 


End file.
